Old Gun Cleaning Methods

Because the Army issued inadequate cleaning solvents for the task we'd often steal acquire take borrow the immersion heaters from the mess and boil our guns.

With the guns completely field stripped...

First barrel was literally boiling water.

Second was nearly boiling soapy water.

Cold water rinse.

Third barrel of boiling water.

Then a blast of compressed air while it was still hot.

Then a wipedown with a tiny amount of Break-Free® CLP.

It made the guns inspection ready.  Where just Break-Free® CLP, old t-shirts, toothbrushes and elbow grease would get them less dirty, they'd never pass inspection unless you dedicated a week to cleaning them.

The reason it took a week is because the C part of CLP attacks the carbon very slowly, and three application and scrubbings over a week typically got it done.

Or one day of making gun soup.

I wonder today if we were damaging the guns doing what we were doing to make inspection.  If we'd missed some tiny amount of water some place and the guns were rusting from the inside out.